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It was about 150 years ago when a group of Chinese opera performers headed south and eventually found themselves in Thailand. Upon performing their art on the island of Phuket, an epidemic stream of illness swept across the group. They eventually came to the realization that they had become sick because they had not worshipped or shown respect to the nine emperor gods from the Chinese Daoist belief.

In order to make up for their blunder, they decided to not only eat vegetarian, but to attempt to remain pure for the first nine days of the ninth lunar month. They vowed to not kill anything, not hurt anyone, refrain from lying or cheating, and eat strictly vegetarian food.

To this day, after the water throwing Songkran festival, the vegetarian festival in Thailand which is known as Tesagan Gin Jay (or just the Jay Festival) is one of Thailand’s largest events.

The most concentrated festival takes place in Phuket where there is a high concentration of Chinese, though there are also plenty of other celebrations throughout the country. In Bangkok, the vegetarian festival can be experienced and observed throughout the city, but the main events take place in Yaowarat (Chinatown).

Not everyone participates in a vow to remain pure for the nine days, but quite a few Thais make the decision to eat vegetarian for the duration of the festival.